Sorry It Took So Long
by ReyaSelene
Summary: Rachel always thought she knew who her Mr. Right was. When faced with a tough decision she realizes maybe she was wrong. Now she wants to get it right & help her friends get it right too. Puckleberry :)
1. Say Goodbye

**AN: Wednesday morning when I woke up my little brother was watching our DVR recording of Glee, but it was the very end. (If you haven't seen the end of the yes/no episode & don't want it to be spoiled, look away now & I suggest not reading until you have at least watched the last 5 mins) Anyway so I wake up to Finn proposing to Rachel & that's when I wanted to yell at the TV. I was hoping it was just a bad dream. Unfortunately it was not. But hey I'm maybe she says no. I don't know about y'all but I've been extremely disappointed with this season; not the music, just the writting & all the plots & drama. It's kind of ridiculous. Well I was sitting in class later that day and this popped into my head. It's kind of weird because it's not really matched up with the show, time wise. But oh well. Everything in this story is a tad off from the show besides the fact that Finn proposed, everything else is how I wish thing would go down. So sorry for any mistakes and I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: Oh how I wish I owned Glee, but I don't. If I did Finchel would be over & Puckleberry would reign supreme :p nor do I own "Say Goodbye" by Chris Brown**

Chapter 1-Say Goodbye

_There's never a right time to say goodbye, but I gotta make the first move 'cause if I don't you gonna start hating me. 'Cause I really don't feel the way I once felt about you…We just can't go on pretending that we get along. ~Chris Brown_

This was not what she had been expecting when she walked into the auditorium looking for Finn; him asking her to marry him. The most surprising part was that her heart wasn't telling her to say yes. This had been what she had wanted, right? It was supposed to be like a fairytale; they'd get married, she'd become a star, and live happily ever after. However, every part of Rachel, especially her head and her heart, was screaming at her. _NO, NO, NO! Say NO!_

For the longest time she had dreamed about how Finn would propose, their wedding, and their whole lives together. But that was then, and now that it was actually happening all she could think was that it didn't feel right. Rachel started making lists in her head despite feeling like immediately saying no. For each positive, a voice in her head came up with a negative. He had picked one of her favorite spots, on stage, the ring was beautiful, but when she looked at Finn the first thing that came to mind was that he wasn't the right guy. He didn't have the right colored eyes; they should be hazel and go along with a ridiculous haircut. Rachel was shocked by her own thoughts. Maybe if she had been in the same mindset she had been in for most of high school it would be different. But she was different now; she had grown and learned things about herself and the people around her this year.

Rachel didn't know how long she had been standing there without saying a word, but it feel like an eternity. She had always been one to know exactly what she wanted in life, like Broadway. In this instant Rachel knew one thing she didn't want and that was to be married to Finn. Sure part of her would always care for him, he was her first love, but Finn was Lima and Rachel was leaving Lima behind. In all honesty, she knew that he would have gone to New York with her, but she also knew that he wouldn't be happy. Finn wasn't meant for New York, not like some of the other glee kids were. Rachel and Kurt were both heading to NYADA. Mike was going to Julliard. Quinn, who wasn't too upset about not getting into Yale, would be going to Columbia. And with a lot of hard work and long hours on both his and Rachel's part, Puck was going to NYU.

When he had shown up on Rachel's doorstep with an unopened letter from the Office of Admissions, practically having a panic attack, saying he couldn't open it she asked if he wanted her to. When he nodded, Rachel gently grabbed the envelope and opened the letter. As she started to unfold it, she couldn't help but notice how her heart raced, and how much she prayed that this was an acceptance letter. Puck had looked on nervously as she read, she didn't give anything away. At least until she almost tackled him, screaming, "You did it! You got it! I knew you would!" When she finally looked at him her lips were dangerously close to his, but Puck was gone, Noah in his place so he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and whispered thanks over and over again into her hair. Rachel scolded herself when she felt a twinge of disappointment from not really kissing him, _you have a boyfriend; and it's not him._ She felt guilty that she wanted to kiss him, but even worse when she realized that that statement wasn't entirely true.

Rachel knew it was time to answer Finn; his hopeful smile had begun to turn into a worried one and for good reason. She stumbled a little when she spoke, trying to think of a way to let him down easy, "Finn…we haven't even graduated yet..."

Finn interrupted her, "its ok we can wait until after graduation to actually get married, and then we can get a house with a big back yard, get a dog and have the white picket fence and everything. I can work at Burt's shop and take classes…"

Now it was Rachel's turn to interrupt because, as much as she wanted to let him down easy, the fact that he had expected her to stay in Lima sent a wave of anger washing over her. She tried to let it pass and once she was certain she could continue without hitting him, she got on with it, "Finn, I can't do this. I can't marry you. I'm so sorry."

"Why not, don't you love me?"

"Do you hear yourself?" her voice rising with anger once again, "if you loved me you wouldn't want me to stay in Lima. You just expected that if we got married I would give up my dreams. Finn I told you, that nothing will keep me from New York, not even you. I am truly sorry, but this has to end."

"So you're breaking up with me, too?" he sounded broken and shocked.

"Yes, I am. Again, I'm sorry, but you aren't the right guy for me. You might have been before, but not anymore." Rachel reached around her neck and unhooked the Finn necklace she wore. She took the necklace and put it in his hand. She sent him one last apologetic look before walking out; waiting until she was outside the auditorium before letting the tears fall. She felt like a horrible person, but she knew that if she had stayed with him she wouldn't be happy and neither would he. Rachel needed someone to talk to, but Kurt was with Blaine driving to their date night location. _Oh my goodness Kurt! What will he say?_ Now she really needed to talk to someone so she grabbed her phone and dialed a number that had recently been being used more often, "Quinn, are you busy? Can I come over?"

**AN2:** **I realize this is short, but I had planned on this being a one-shot. However the longer I wrote, more I realized that wasn't going to happen. So I decided to split it up. I'm not finished with the whole thing yet, but I do have the next chapter & a half written so it shouldn't be too long til the next update. Well anywho I hope you like it so far.**


	2. It's Not Your Fault

**AN: Everytime I think about it, the more I really hope Rachel says no. I personally don't totally agree getting married right out of high school. I mean I don't have anything against people who do, but it's like you haven't even gone out & experienced anything else. You're practically still just kids. Anywho thanks for the reviews & alerts; I'm glad you like it so far :) Again sorry this is kind of short. Also sorry for any mistakes. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Glee :( nor do I own the song "It's Not Your Fault" by New Found Glory.**

Chapter 2-It's Not Your Fault

_It's not your fault, so please stop your crying now. It's not your fault, so please stop your crying now. ~New Found Glory_

Rachel wasn't the only one that had grown from experience; Quinn and Rachel's friendship was proof of that. Not only could they tolerate each other, they had become good friends; in fact Kurt and Rachel had agreed that Quinn would make an excellent roommate. Quinn was grateful that she knew who her true friends were now. For once she was almost completely happy with where she was in life. She had good friends, was going to a good school, and she didn't ruin Shelby and Beth's lives. All of these things, she mostly had Rachel to thank for. Quinn tried to help the girl anyway she could. From the sound of her voice on the phone, Quinn knew this would be one way.

When Quinn opened the door Rachel stood there with tear stains on her cheeks. Quinn pulled her inside with a hug, "what happened?"

Rachel was struggling with her voice, the hiccups stopping her every time she tried to talk. Puck had once let Quinn know that when Rachel got thirsty when she was sad or upset so the blonde had her sit on the couch while she grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen. When she came back, she handed the glass to Rachel, who took a big gulp of it. Rachel took a deep breath and finally felt ready to talk. "Thanks for the water," she set the glass down.

"Are you gonna tell me what's going on now?" Quinn had been getting worried by the diva's silence.

The diva in question, just nodded, "Ff-Finn…he, he asked me to m-marry him." More tears came down her face. "I told him no." Her hiccups got stronger so she grabbed the water glass and took another drink.

To say Quinn was shocked would be an understatement; she was just glad Rachel had said no. Quinn asked her next question in a careful tone, "Why did you say no?"

Rachel looked at Quinn, for a second she worried Quinn would judge her for what she was about to confess, but then she knew that after all her blonde friend had been through, she wouldn't. "He expected that if we got married, I would stay here in Lima. Even after I already told him that after graduation I'm leaving for New York no matter what. He wanted me to give up my dream." Quinn grew annoyed with Finn for even thinking that he could keep Rachel here; she also thought that this was reason enough for Rachel to say no, but she had a feeling there was more. "As soon as he asked me every part of me told me to say no. We haven't even graduated yet. Then all I could think was that he was the right guy; he wasn't the one that was supposed to be asking me." Rachel looked at Quinn with pleading eyes, "I feel like a horrible person. I'm supposed to love him, but all I could think about after he asked me was someone else."

Quinn wrapped an arm around Rachel and made sure she was finished before she spoke, "Rachel, you're not a horrible person. You did nothing wrong. It's not your fault that you and Puck were made for each other and both of you were too stubborn to realize it for a while. You listened to your heart and did the right thing, because we both know that if you would have said yes, it would have made lots of people's lives miserable. All your friends, me, Kurt, Blaine, Mike, Sam, would be because you would, you would be miserable because you are in love with someone else, Finn would because you wouldn't love him, and Puck would because you two love each other, but he wouldn't be able to have you. And that would be the worst thing of all because you were never supposed to love Finn, for you, and you know I'm right, it was always supposed to be Puck."

Rachel seemed shocked and happy with what Quinn had said, "Thank you. I suppose you're right. Do you think Kurt will be angry with me, I mean Finn is his family?"

"Finn may be part of family, but he won't take his side on this. If you haven't realized this, Kurt is a big fan of Puckleberry; actually I'm pretty sure everyone besides Finn is a fan. Plus Kurt told me that as much as he loves his brother, he really hoped you wouldn't end up with him."

Rachel just laughed, her mood cheered up by this talk, "I don't think everyone is a fan of Puckleberry," Quinn tilted her head in question, "Santana? She freaked out when Mercedes liked him, and got mad at you when you were with him."

Quinn shook her head, "no, she likes Puckleberry and not just because Brittney loves you guys as a couple with a passion. You've grown on her, and she knows that you guys are right for each other, plus she has Brit to keep her occupied, she doesn't _need _Puck anymore. I think both of those times she was just looking out for him. She knew I would hurt him somehow and she knew Mercedes would just use him." Rachel could hear the jealousy in her tone when she talked about the other glee club diva. It was a little known fact that Quinn still had feelings for Sam so with him trying to win his summer fling's heart back, Quinn was more than a little heartbroken.

"He'll come to his senses you know," Rachel could feel it, and you know, she's a little bit psychic, "trust me." In fact, despite what he said about loving Mercedes, Rachel would frequently catch Sam watching Quinn. Rachel sometimes thought that he didn't even realize he was doing it. Occasionally Sam would see that he was caught and Rachel would give him a pointed look; he would just blush and look away.

"You think so?" Quinn looked hopefully at Rachel.

"I know so. What should we do now? Should we come up with a way to knock some sense into that Avatar-loving boy?"

"That can wait. Right now we are going to get you cleaned up and you are going to go bag yourself a badass." Quinn laughed as she grabbed Rachel's hand and led her to the bathroom to redo her make-up, "You have to talk to him before someone else does."


	3. Oh Darling

**AN: Thanks again for the alerts and reviews...it seriously makes my day. I know the last two chapters have been on the short side so I made sure this one was longer...yay! And if you are readers of my other stories I want to apologize that they are being neglected at the moment, but it seems this story is the only one I can think of stuff for. In my head I'm thinking this will only be a few more chapters long then I'll get back to my other two. I have the terrible habit of starting something, then before I finish it starting something else. It's one of my resolutions to finish all the things I start so we'll see how that goes. :) Anyway sorry for any mistakes and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, sadly. Nor do I own the song "Oh Darling" by Plug In Stereo.**

Chapter 3-Oh Darling

"_I really want to come out and tell you. Oh darling, I love you so. If you'd ask me for my heart, there's no way that I'll say no. Oh darling, just take a chance please so we can stay together till hell starts to freeze…Cause I'd like to show you and make you see; that although we're different types, we were meant to be." ~Plug In Stereo_

Earlier that day when Puck had gotten home, he was in a really bad mood; much to the annoyance of his younger sister. He had snapped at her _again_ for something completely stupid and she had had enough, "Noah, what the heck is your problem? Because I'm sick of you biting my head off for no reason."

"Nothing, I'm fine. I'll be in my room if you need me. Don't do anything stupid."

"Whatever," Maya went back to watching her TV show.

Puck was definitely not fine; he hadn't been since he had talked to Finn in the hallway. Finn had been putting stuff in his bag when a small jewelry box fell out. Being the masochistic idiot he was Puck asked Finn what it was. When Finn opened it to reveal an engagement ring, Puck literally felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. Suddenly he couldn't breathe and he felt the urge to run. He had thought that maybe once they were in New York, he could finally have a shot at getting Rachel to love him back. But now Finn was going to ask her to marry him and she would say yes and would never be his. Puck hadn't meant to take his anger out on his sister, but he had no one else right now.

For a while, Puck tried to play his guitar, but he couldn't focus and nothing he played sounded right. Finally he gave up and collapsed on his bed, just staring at the ceiling. Here he was in his room having a pity party for himself, a very un-badass thing to do, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the petite brunette girl standing in his doorway until she knocked, "Maya told me I could come up here. She also mentioned you were in a bad mood. Why is that?"

Puck's first reaction was to look at her left hand while he answered, "I'm fine." She wasn't wearing the ring, what did that mean? He sat up leaning against the headboard and made room for her, like he normally did. Over the past year they had gotten closer and closer much to Finn's dismay. They never did anything bad, they just sat and talked. Sometimes Puck would convince her to play a video game and sometimes they would watch movies or play some music.

"Noah, I know you and you are not fine. You know you can tell me anything," Rachel shut the door and came and sat next to him. She placed her head against the familiar and comfortable "pillow" that was Puck's shoulder.

"Same goes for you, Rach," he told her, starting at the wall across from him.

Rachel got the impression that he knew what Finn had planned on doing, but just wanted to hear it from her. "Finn asked me to marry him." As soon as the words were out, Rachel felt Puck tense up and almost recoil like he had been slapped. She wanted to see his reaction so she peeked out of the corner of her eye when she spoke, "I told him no."

His eyes that had been closed to hide the pain that shone in them shot open and met Rachel's, making sure this wasn't some joke. Puck stared intensely into hers; to her it felt as if he was looking into her very soul. He couldn't believe what he was hearing so he asked, "you said no?"

"That would be correct." Rachel grinned.

Puck's face was almost comical. There were so many emotions going through him, it was like his face didn't know which one to display. He had been so sure she would say yes, so why hadn't she? Why'd she come here? Puck didn't want to get his hopes up, _Just 'cause she came here doesn't mean she wants you. _Finally he slipped his poker face back on, "So why'd you say no? I thought Finn was your true love or some shit like that."

Rachel's nose crinkled when he reverted back to his Puck persona; she wanted to talk to Noah, not Puck, "Noah…" She said it like she was scolding a child and as soon as she did his expression softened and looked down in shame. Rachel heard him mumble a sorry as he looked back up at her face. She took this as her cue to continue so she did while facing straight ahead, "I've come to the realization that over the years I have deluded myself into believing I loved Finn, when really I didn't. As soon as he asked me every part of me was screaming at me to tell him no. One, we haven't even graduated yet and I told him that. He basically told me that it would be ok and we could stay in Lima. He was going to make me give up my dream. I'm also highly convinced he's not thinking straight; what with all he found out about his father."

"That asshole," Puck interrupted. Rachel just giggled before he asked another question seriously, "Is that the only reason?"

"No, it's not. It just didn't feel right to say yes, and I couldn't figure out why at first. He picked one of my favorite spots, on stage. The ring was pretty. Then I looked at him and you want to know the first thought that came to my head was?" I turned to look at him and he nodded. "The first thought was, he's not the right guy. The right guy would ask me to give up my dream, he would encourage it. The right guy wouldn't be ashamed to walk arm in arm with me down the hallways with me, and would take a slushy for me." Puck could feel his heart beat speeding up; he hoped she was saying what he thought she was. Rachel let out a laugh, "The right guy has deep and intense, gorgeous hazel eyes. He has a haircut that is ridiculous yet sexy at the same time. He is a badass, but can still be sweet to the ones he cares about. I said no because I don't love Finn and we wouldn't have been happy. We wouldn't have been happy because I realized that I'm in love with you."

Puck could barely process everything due to being so happy. _She loves me. Holy shit is this really happening._ He didn't even realize that he hadn't said anything until Rachel, worried, said his name. Puck focused his eyes back to hers and smiled, "you have no idea how long I've waited for you to realize that." He leaned down and kissed her like he had wanted to do for what seemed like forever. He kissed her with all he had, all the love, all the passion, all of it.

Finally, they had to break apart for air. Puck rested his forehead against hers and looked into her chocolaty brown eyes, smiling. Rachel smiled right back, "sorry it took me so long." Then she claimed his lips again and like she did every time she kissed him, she saw fireworks; like the ones Finn talked about seeing with Quinn. One time she had asked Quinn if she saw them when she kissed him, but she said no. She saw them when she kissed Sam. But enough about them for the moment, all Rachel could think about how much she had missed kissing Noah.

Puck pulled back this time, Rachel let out a quiet whine, and he chuckled, "I love you too by the way." Rachel smiled widely and felt so happy she could burst. She couldn't help but think about how right it felt being in his arms. They both knew they would have their problems, they were both incredibly stubborn people after all, but they also knew that they would get through them because they were meant for each other.

They just stared at each other for a moment and smiled. Rachel was the first to break the silence, "so what do you want to do now?"

"Well what I _want_ to do probably wouldn't be appropriate to do with my kid sister downstairs," he waggled his eyebrows at her. She laughed and playfully smacked his chest. He lifted his hands in surrender, "kidding, kidding, well kind of. We could go downstairs and I'll make the three of us some of my world famous spaghetti and watch a movie 'til Ma gets home."

"That sounds lovely, Noah."

Puck got off his bed, grabbed Rachel's hand and helped her up; not missing the fact that well her hand fit in his. "Alright then, let's go."

"So world famous spaghetti, huh? It can't be that famous. I've never heard of it before." She said jokingly.

"Are you questioning my badass cooking skills?" He altered the question he had asked her sophomore year about his "badassness". He raised one eyebrow in challenge, and smirked.

"I'm sure your cooking is lovely," modifying her answer from last time, she gave him a smirk that rivaled his own.

Rachel watched him while he made the food; he didn't want any outside influence so he could show off his cooking skills. They talked just like they did any other time they hung out; only now whenever he felt like it Puck could place kisses on her lips, and he did. When Maya saw them coming down the stairs holding hands she could barely contain her excitement. She loved Rachel and Puck was always happier when he was with her.

They were finished eating when Rachel realized her phone had been unusually quiet, "I'm surprised Quinn hasn't asked for a status update yet." Rachel laughed.

"How is she doing?" Puck asked, referring to her near breakdown a few weeks ago.

Rachel remembered Quinn's demeanor from earlier, "She good; she has her moments though. Now that Sam is back, all that guilt she felt is coming back," she hesitated wondering whether she should share the next tidbit of info, but figured that he could help, "she still has feelings for him. And I can tell he has some for her too. I just hate seeing her so sad. Also I just know that if he keeps going after Mercedes, he'll get hurt. He didn't see her when she was having her diva-fits; and while she's better now, I can tell it might happen again."

Puck hated seeing the grief-stricken look on Rachel's face and he would do anything to make it go away. "Maybe I can talk to him. See what's going on in that Bieber-haired head of his." Rachel beamed at him, which caused him to smile as well.

Then she got that look on her face; the one she got when she had an idea. Puck knew that this could be good or bad. "Noah, I think we should sing a duet."

He didn't think this was a bad idea, but he was confused as to how this would help Quinn and Sam. "Sure, but how will this help them?"

"Never underestimate the power of a great song." Again Rachel smirked, something that must have rubbed off from him because he couldn't think of anytime she had done it before they started hanging out.

"What song?"

Rachel grabbed her laptop from her bag by the door. "Well, have you ever heard of the band, The Civil Wars?"

Once they had mastered the song, Rachel heard her phone vibrate with a text, to which she quickly sent a reply.

**{Blaine & Kurt r done w/ their date. Told 'em to stop ur place. Should be there in bout 15 mins. Hope u had fun today ;) –Q}**

**{Ok. Thank you. I shall call you once I talk to Kurt. Talk to you later. –R}**

"It seems I need to get home." Rachel didn't miss the disappointed look on Noah's face.

"Why? Is there something wrong?" he asked.

Rachel gave a small smile, "No, it's just Kurt had already left on his date before I could talk to him...I wanted to talk to him before he went home and Finn could say something that could potentially damage our friendship. I mean if it does regardless, I just want him to her my explanation."

Puck could tell she was nervous about losing her friend, but he had a feeling that this wouldn't change anything. He knew that Kurt didn't entirely like the Finchel relationship. "Babe, everything will be fine. And if Hummel starts being a little bitch to you, tell him I'll have to arrange another date with him and the inside of the dumpster."

It got a laugh out of her, but a smack to the arm as well. "Noah, you will no such thing."

"I know, I'm just messing." Rachel had gathered her stuff so he wrapped an arm around her and took her bag in his other, "I'll walk you to your car."

Before she got in the front seat, Rachel turned to him and kissed him, "Goodnight, Noah. I had a lovely time."

"I had a good time too. Night, Rach. See you later." He placed another kiss on her lips and watched as she got in her car and drove away. Puck couldn't stop smiling as he walked back inside, completely forgetting his sister's presence.

Maya looked at her older brother with a smug smile, "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," even now it was still a lie because inside he was beyond fine; he was on cloud nine.

Rachel was also on cloud nine, but it was lined with a thin edging of dread. She really hoped Kurt wouldn't hate her. Once inside, she got a glass of water ready in case this ended badly. She froze when she heard a knock on the door.

As soon as she opened the door, Kurt came rushing in with an apologetic looking Blaine following behind. Rachel shut the door and turned around to find Kurt seemingly trying to burn holes into her. Fearing that he had already talked to Finn, she was completely caught off guard by what he said, "Please, please, please for the sake of Broadway, tell me you said no."

"How'd you know?" She tried to think if Kurt had been acting strange lately because she knew that there was no way he could've known without wanting to say something.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "I live with him. Now answer me."

Rachel shook her head, "I told him no."

"Thank Prada!" Kurt shouted and engulfed her in a hug with surprising strength. He pulled back to look at her, "As much as I would love to be related to you somehow, there was no way you could married him. If you had said yes, I most definitely would not have helped you plan it nor would I be able to resist shouting "I object" in front of everyone we know at the wedding." Rachel rolled her eyes at his dramatics and looked to Blaine who just shrugged and laughed. "Now tell me about your day with Puckerman."

The boys left her house after she finished giving them the details of her day and after they told her about their date. Kurt left noting that once he got home Finn would likely drown him with questions. Also letting a thankful Rachel know that he wouldn't let him know about her and Puck; he could find out for himself. Once they left she called Quinn and filled her in with everything except for anything that concerned her or Sam. Finally Rachel got ready for bed and almost like he knew, she received a text from Noah. He had even used better grammar than he normally did, which made her smile more.

**{Sleep tight Rach. Can't wait to see you tomorrow. Love you.}**

**{I can't wait either. :) Love you too Noah}**

That night Rachel and Puck both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.


	4. I've Got This Friend

**AN: As always thank you so much for the alerts & reviews. Anyway I'm going to go on a little rant here so if you haven't seen the "Michael" episode & don't want to know anything about it I suggest you look away for now. Well I suppose I'll start with the good. The music was FANTASTIC; I could barely contain my excitement during Santana & Sebastian's "Smooth Criminal" or when Artie got to dance with Mike during "Scream". Artie's speech to Mr. Schue was kickass. Well I have to say I loved Quinn this episode, the whole time she was talking to Rachel in the bathroom & after her song I was pumped thinking that she would get through to her. Then the whole NYADA letter thing and Finn had to go and sing that song; I was seriously so angry. Hopefully, someone will knock some sense into Rachel soon & she'll rethink/change her decision. I love Glee, I really do, but I honestly have been disappointed this season. I mean if it wasn't for the amazing music, Harry Shum Jr., Chord Overstreet, & most importantly Mark Salling & that sliver of hope in me that is holding out for a Puckleberry endgame; I don't know if I would be watching it. Ok well I should probably stop now while I can. Sorry, but I had to get that out; my best friend is, sadly, a shipper of Finchel (horrible I know right) so I can't really vent to her :P Alright I'll let you get on with the chapter now. Any mistakes are mine sorry. Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Glee, The Civil Wars, or their song "I've Got This Friend" (if you haven't heard it or any of their songs go as soon as you finish reading; it'll be worth it) ...only in my dreams**

Chapter 4-I've Got This Friend

"_I've got this friend; I don't think you know him. He's not much for words. He's hidden his heart away…I've got this friend; I don't think you know her. She sings a simple song. It sounds a lot like his."_

"Are you okay, Rae? You've been bouncing off the walls all morning." Quinn looked concerned as they sat down in the choir room.

Puck laughed, "she's just really excited about the song we're gonna sing."

"You guys are gonna sing a song? What song?" The blonde girl asked excitedly.

"You'll just have to wait and see," at this time Will walked into the room and Rachel raised her hand, "Mr. Schue, Noah and I have prepared a duet."

Will looked from Rachel to Puck, then to Finn, slightly confused; he could have sworn Rachel and Finn were together yesterday. He quickly shook it off, "Sure, go right ahead." Rachel and Puck both got up from their seats and headed up to the front of the class. Puck grabbed his guitar and slung the strap around his shoulders. They smiled at each other as they began the song.

(_Rachel, _**Puck, **both)

**I've got this friend  
>I don't think you know him<br>He's not much for words  
>He's hidden his heart away<strong>

Puck nudged my arm and motioned towards Sam with his head. The blonde boy's eyes widened and a confused look crossed his face. Rachel and Puck had spent quite a long time deciding whether or not to single out their two golden-haired friends. They finally had agreed that they might as well have some fun with it.

Oh I've got this friend  
>A loveless romantic<br>All that he really wants  
>Is someone to want him back<p>

Ohh, if the right one came  
>If the right one came along<br>Ohh, If the right one came, along

_I've got this friend  
>I don't think you know her<br>She sings a simple song  
>It sounds a lot like his<br>_

This time Rachel nudged Puck and he helped her sit up on the piano. Once she was secure and comfy, she waved at Quinn. The ex-Cheerio shot the singing couple a look that clearly asked what the hell they were doing. Rachel just smiled and looked to see Sam looking at her friend.

_Oh I've got this friend  
>Holding onto her heart<br>Like it's a little secret  
>Like it's all she's got to give<br>_  
>Ohh, if the right one came<br>If the right one came along  
>Ohh, if the right one came along<p>

**It'd be such a shame**  
><em>If they never meet<em>  
><strong>She sounds lovely<strong>  
><em>He sounds right out of a dream<em>  
><strong>If only<strong>  
><em>If only<em>  
><span>If only<span>

Rachel hopped off the piano and made her way over to stand by Puck.

Ohh  
>Ohh, if the right one came<br>If the right one came along

**Ohh,** _(I've got this friend) _

If the right one came  
><span>If the right one came along<span>  
><strong>Ohh,<strong> _(I've got this friend) _  
><span>If the right one came along<span>

Rachel and Puck finished the song smiling at each other then looked out at the rest of the glee club. Everyone was clapping with the exception of Finn. They noticed Sam and Quinn glancing at one another every so often, which made the two in front laugh. "Do you think it worked?" Rachel asked quietly so the others wouldn't hear.

"I don't know. Probably, I mean our duet skills are kickass."

Rachel rolled her eyes, but laughed. "I guess I would have to agree; together we are pretty amazing," smiling up at him.

Puck just smiled back at her, "Damn straight we are." Then he leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek.

"Noah, language," Rachel scolded him.

His smile turned to a smirk. "Sorry, babe," his tone told her otherwise.

She playfully smacked his chest, "sure you are." They walked over to the risers and chairs.

"I'm gonna go talk to Evans. You should probably go talk to Quinn." Rachel nodded in agreement and walked over to her friend. Puck walked over to Sam.

"Dude, what the hell?" Sam demanded.

Puck, never one to beat around the bush, told him straight up, "You need to talk to Fabray, like seriously. All these looks you give each other when you think the other isn't looking is getting hella annoying."

"Whatever, what do we even have to talk about?"

"Evans, I normally don't talk about feelings and shit with other dudes, but I'm gonna make an exception right now. You like Quinn. She likes you. Yes she did a shitty thing to you by cheating, but she feels like hell about it. What she did was stupid and she knows it; Finn tends to have that effect on people. It's like his stupid is contagious. Anyway, Quinn's a friend and she's one of Rach's best friends so I know that she still cares about you like crazy."

"Are you doing this just because of Rachel?" Sam asked, questioning his friend's motives.

Puck let out an exasperated sigh, "No, not completely. I mean she's part of it because when Q is upset, Rach gets upset and I can't stand seeing her sad. But you are also my bro and I got your back. So, and I'll destroy you if you repeat this, I want you to be happy. And that won't happen if you keep chasing after Jones 'cause she's about two songs from another diva fit. You weren't here for her first one and let me tell you, man, it is not pretty. She'll just use you."

Sam looked like he was thinking. Finally, he answered, "fine, I'll talk to her."

Meanwhile Rachel approached Quinn. "What the heck was that?" Rachel could tell Quinn was trying to sound angry, but it wasn't working.

"What was what?" the brunette said in an innocent voice. Quinn gave her a knowing look. "We are helping, don't worry."

Quinn was about to say something else when they were interrupted by Finn, "Rachel, can I talk to you…alone?"

"I guess," Rachel walked out into the hall with him.

Once the door closed completely Finn turned on Rachel, "so I ask you to marry me, you say no, and then you run off to Puck; what the hell, Rachel?"

"Finn, I already told you, I am sorry that I said no, but I meant it when I said you weren't the right guy for me." Rachel really didn't want to be having this conversation, but knew it was unavoidable.

"But I love you." he pleaded with her.

Rachel shook her head, "No, you're in love with the idea of me, the idea of having someone to follow you around and worship the ground you walk on. That and you don't want to be alone. When we were at Breadstix, you sat there and pretty much said you didn't have anything special in your life with me sitting right next to you, and your brother sitting across from you. You have a family that loves you and people that care about you. You do have special things in your life, Finn; you're just too blind to see them."

Puck, who had wondered where Rachel had gone off to, asked Quinn and was a little worried when she told him Finn had asked to talk. He had stopped when he heard his name; he knew eavesdropping wasn't cool, but he couldn't help it. So he stood around the corner listen to them.

Finn went from pleading to angry, "So you think Puck is the right guy? That he's gonna give you your happily ever after ending. Sorry, but he's not that kind of guy." Puck felt like walking out and punching Finn.

Rachel's voice stopped him; it was scary calm, "you underestimate him, you know. You think you have him all figured out, but you don't. Sure he can be a tad abrasive and his language is downright vulgar sometimes, but he can also be sweet and thoughtful. He is extremely protective about the people he cares about, and if you are one of those people you are very lucky. He's not perfect, but that's ok because neither am I. We both have flaws, but we balance each other out."

"Sure. He's just gonna break your heart…"

This time Rachel cut him off. "Finn, out of the boys I've dated, he's the only one that hasn't."

Finn just wouldn't accept it, which led him to keep digging himself a deeper grave. "Not yet. God, Rachel, I don't even know what you see in him. He's just a Lima Loser; always has been, always will be."

Puck knew that Rachel was insanely mad and that something had snapped in her when he heard her slapping Finn across the face, hard. To him it was amusing; he let out a quiet chuckle. "Don't you ever call Noah that again. He may have made a few mistakes, but he learned from them, unlike you. He is twice the man you will ever be. And from where I stand he's the one who's going to New York with me and you are the one who is staying here and is going to be the Lima Loser. I'm done having this conversation with you so I think you should leave." The sound of Finn's footsteps echoed in the halls, "You can come out now, Noah."

He was shocked she knew he was there, "how'd you know I was there?"

Rachel giggled, "I heard you laugh after I slapped Finn." She stared up at him.

"Yeah about that; what happened to violence is never the answer?" he joked.

She blushed, "Well, he was making me extremely angry."

"It's ok. It was pretty badass. And thanks for standing up for me and everything."

"Anytime," she gave him a quick kiss, "now let's go back to the rest of the club and have some fun."

As soon as they got back in the room, Kurt came practically running up to them, "that song was amazing and while you were in the hallway we may have made a little suggestion to Mr. Schue and took a group vote."

"What suggestion? A vote about what? Why were we not included?" Rachel asked a little bummed she had been excluded.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "calm down diva. Someone may have suggested to Mr. Schue that from now on Puck here be the male lead and that most of the duets should be Puckleberry."

"And…?" Puck wanted to know how the voting had gone.

"Well, you, my mohawked friend are the new male lead of New Directions so congrats."

Rachel turned to him, beaming, "Oh, Noah, this is so exciting. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks. I didn't really do anything though," he said, playing it cool. Inside he was really pumped and not just because Rachel wouldn't be singing duets with Hudson anymore. The pair made their way back to their seats. Everyone congratulated Puck and Mr. Schue continued talking about the next assignment the club would have. Finn came back halfway through class, but no one told him about the recent change in leadership. Everyone figured he'd find out soon enough on his own.

Quinn leaned over to Rachel while Will talked and whispered to the other girl, "Thank you, both of you."

"For what?" Rachel had an idea.

"Sam asked me out for coffee, so we could hang out and talk." Quinn said it with a smile.

Rachel smiled back, "told you he'd come to his senses." Quinn quietly giggled and turned her focus back to their teacher. Rachel squeezed Puck's hand to get his attention. Once he looked at her, she nodded and gave him a thumbs up. The sight of Rachel doing this made him chuckle.

After class Rachel and Puck went to Rachel's house to hang out while Sam and Quinn headed to the Lima Bean. "So have you decided whether or not you're going to live in the dorms?" Rachel asked Puck while they sat on her couch watching reruns of _Supernatural_, with her legs resting in his lap.

Puck rubbed the back of his neck, "yeah, me and Chang are gonna get an apartment. Since his dad is all supportive now, he offered to pay for the rent and everything."

"Oh Noah, that's wonderful. Maybe we can get places in the same building. We could be neighbors." Puck couldn't help but laugh at how excited she was getting. He could see that spark twinkling in her eyes.

"Live by you three? I don't know; you guys could possibly be the new Unholy Trinity." He said jokingly.

Rachel smirked, "well I guess we'll just have to ask our other potentially very attractive male neighbors to help us with the heavy lifting or if we ever need protecting."

Puck grew a tad angry at the thought of some other guy protecting and watching over _his_ Rachel. "I don't think so."

"Yeah and maybe one of them can help me practice songs…" Rachel laughed when his head quickly turned to look at her. She knew he was thinking about how most of the times they would practice songs ended with them making out.

"So you wanna play this game," it came out almost as a growl and it made the butterflies in Rachel's stomach flutter wildly. All she could do was shake her head. "Oh I think you do." Puck grabbed hold of her legs so she couldn't get away and started tickling her.

"NOAH! NO! STOP!" she yelled in between laughing and gasping for air. Before she knew it he was practically on top of her using his arms to keep his weight off of her. His lips ghosted over hers; she could smell the minty-ness of his breath as it blew across her face. Finally, she closed the space between them and captured his lips with hers. His tongue swiped over her lips asking for entry to which she happily obliged. Puck threaded one of his hands through her silky hair as the other rested on the bare skin where her shirt had rode up; while Rachel's fingers explored his abs and chest muscles through his thin black t-shirt. Rachel let out a content sigh into his mouth causing Puck to growl and his hand to push her shirt up further. That's about the time when someone started knocking at the front door. They pulled their mouths apart. Puck rested his forehead against hers and groaned in frustration; wanting to tell whoever was at the door to go away.

But he knew Rachel wouldn't like that; so he quickly pecked her lips again before getting up and answered the door for her while she straightened herself out. "Fabray," he tried not to say it in a harsh tone, only being mildly successful.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you're alone time, but I wanted to thank both of you," before he knew it Quinn was coming in the house and hugging him.

When she went to hug Rach, he asked, "Thanks for singing that song and for whatever you said that made Sam ask me for coffee."

Rachel smiled, "so I take that it went well?"

"Yes, better than I had hoped. We agreed that we both have feelings for each other, and he's going to give me a second chance. We're just going to start all over, but this time we'll go a little more slowly. So no promise rings or anything yet, but that's okay because I really want to get it right this time." Quinn's smile was infectious.

Rachel looked at Puck and smiled before looking back to the girl, "Oh Quinn, I'm so happy for you."

"Yeah, that's really cool." Puck added.

"Thanks. So what were you guys up to?" Quinn took note of the few pillows on the floor.

Rachel blushed and looked down. Puck just smirked and answered her, "well we were watching _Supernatural _and then there may have been a tickle fight."

Quinn giggled hearing the words "tickle fight" come from Puck's mouth. Then she looked at the TV, where the show was still on, "I love this show. Sam is my favorite Winchester brother; he's gorgeous and he's kinda a sweetheart. Well at least when he wasn't possessed by Lucifer."

"Dean is my favorite; he's sexy and a badass." Rachel said as they all sat down. She turned to look at Puck, who was smirking at what she said.

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Of course. Now let's watch." The three spent a good part of the rest of the night watching TV, talking, and laughing.

**AN2: Sorry if it was kind of a crap ending, but hey I wanted to get this posted & I'm tired. Anyway I think this chapter was longer than the other ones so yay for that, right. :) I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up so until next time, see ya.**


	5. Never Alone

**AN: Thank you so much for all the reviews & alerts, they make my day. So guess what! Due to how long it took me to write this, I have changed this AN and you have been saved from another super long rant (the result of starting to write right after watching the show). Anyway YAY! Unfortunately, at the moment I'm a little slap happy due to the fact that it is around 4 in the morning so you get lots of exclamation points, smiley faces and words in all caps. Also this chapter was going to be more of a Samchel friendship chapter than it is, but Puck and Rachel weren't having any of that so more of that friendship will be in the next chapter. : ) In my opinion (don't hurt me if you think I'm wrong :p) there is plenty of Puckleberry cuteness in this chapter. Call it a Valentine's Day treat. Alrighty here it is Chapter 5, enjoy. & sorry for any mistakes. This chapter does mention and include some similar stuff from the "Michael" episode with my own twist so yeah. And HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee (no matter how much I wish I did) or the song "Never Alone" by Lady Antebellum or any other song mentioned.**

Chapter 5-Never Alone

"_May your tears come from laughing, you find friends worth having. With every year passing, they mean more than gold. May you win but stay humble. Smile more than grumble. And know when you stumble, you're never alone." ~Lady Antebellum_

Puck was sitting on the couch with Maya when he heard someone knocking on the door. He groans and gets up. Maya mutters something that sounds like "lazy" under her breath so he throws a pillow at her head. Puck resists the urge to slam the door shut when he sees Finn on the other side. "Sup?"

"Dude, we need to talk," Finn stated.

Puck turned inside and shouted, "Maya, I'll be on the porch, be back in a sec." He then shut the door and turned to Finn, "Ok, start talkin'."

"What's the deal with you and Rachel?"

"We're together." He really didn't want to have this talk with Finn; he had a feeling it could only end badly.

Finn looked at him, "why? Why her? Are you just trying to get back at me or are you trying to get in her pants?"

Puck clenched his fists and tried to remain as calm as possible, "I would shut up and stop saying shit like that if you know what's good for you."

"So what was your plan? Tell her that you're going to New York so she'll sleep with you." Finn disregarding Puck's warning.

"Ok, time for you to shut the hell up and listen," the rage inside him growing, "I _love_ her. Yeah, love. I'm not with her to mess with you or just to sleep with her. I'm with her because I want to be and she makes me want to be better. And not that it's any of your business, but I am going to New York. Got accepted to NYU and I'm getting an apartment with Chang. Of course, if you had been a real friend you would have known that already. Instead you've been too much of a douchebag lately to notice anyone besides yourself." Finn looked like he was going to argue, but Puck spoke before he could, "I really think it's time for you to get the hell off my porch."

Finn glared and shook his head before walking away. Puck shut the door and took a deep breath. He was just about to walk back into the living room when there was another knock on the door and he thought to himself, _seriously_. Thinking it was Finn he opened the door while he spoke, "Dude, I thought I told you to leave…" Puck stopped when he realized it wasn't Finn.

"I passed Finn when I was pulling up. What happened? Are you ok?" Rachel's eyes swept over Noah, inspecting for any cuts, scrapes, or bruising.

He just chuckled at her concern, "yeah, babe. I'm fine. You'll also be proud to know, I didn't even hit him, even though I really wanted to."

"Well, that's good," Rachel leaned up to place a kiss on his lips, "now are you going to tell me what happened?"

"He showed up and wanted to know what was going on with us so I told him we were together. Then he started accusing me of using you. I told him off and said he needed to leave."

"I'm proud of you that you didn't resort to violence. Something really must be done about him, though, maybe we should stage an intervention or something," before she could go on Puck cleared his throat and gave her a look. "Oh yes, sorry, anyway, I made you, Maya, and your mother cookies." Puck reached to grab them greedily from her. She swatted his hands away, "no, Maya gets first pick and you better leave some for your mom this time."

Puck pouted a little and was about to protest when Maya came into the room, "Rachel!"

The younger girl ran to Rachel and gave her a hug, "Hey Maya. Here I made cookies." Maya let out an excited squeal. Puck watched the girls as they talked and he could help the smile that spread across his face. "Noah, are you coming? Or were you planning on standing there the rest of the night?" Rachel's voice brought him out of his thoughts about how much his family loved her. He followed them into the living room where they ganged up on him, forcing him to sit through a variety of Disney movies.

When Mrs. Puckerman got home she greeted Rachel first and Puck spoke up, "Geez, Ma, I see how it is."

"Yeah, what the heck?" Maya added.

Adah laughed, "well out of you three, she gives me the least amount of trouble so of course she's my favorite." Rachel giggled as she hugged her children. Then _For Good_ came from Rachel's phone, letting her know Kurt was calling her. The only reason Puck knew the song was because of the time she had made him listen to the whole _Wicked_ cd so he, as she explained, "could sing along with her once she was in this musical on Broadway." Puck wondered what ringtone she had for him because he knew that she had made it so everyone had one special to them; most of them songs she had sung with that person or a song they had sung. He only knew a few of them like that Blaine's was _Don't You Want Me_, Mercedes had _Take Me or Leave Me _as hers, Santana's was _I Kissed a Girl_, and Quinn's was _I Feel Pretty_.

He was just about to ask her when she came back, but the look on her face changed his question, "What's wrong?"

"Oh my, well it seems that Kurt and Blaine ran into Sebastian outside of the Lima Bean and that sorry excuse for a person tried to slushie Kurt, but Blaine got in the way. Blaine's eye was scratched and now he has to get surgery. Noah, Sebastian put something else in that slushie. I'm sorry to leave in such a hurry, but I'm going to go over to Blaine's." Adah gasped and let out a quiet "oh dear" as Rachel gathered her things.

Puck stood up and took her bag from her, "I'll go with you." He looked to his mom and she nodded in approval.

"Thank you, Noah. Goodbye, Adah, Maya. I'll see you soon." Once they were in her car she turned to him with a serious face, "a text has been sent out for an emergency glee meeting tomorrow morning. We'll decide how to proceed. However, you are not allowed to go after Sebastian; we don't need you going back to juvie."

"What so you just decided I don't get to do anything about that asshole." Puck said, angry. Blaine was his bro; there was no way that Sebastian was going to get away with this.

Rachel huffed, "_I_ decided nothing." Puck looked at her confused, "Don't blame me, blame Santana. She texted me and told me to, and these are her words not mine, not let your stupid ass do something stupid." Both of them laughed a little.

As they pulled up to Blaine's they saw Kurt's vehicle already there. The two went inside and made their way to his room. They found him in bed with an eye patch and Kurt sitting in a chair next to the bed. Blaine smiled, "Hey Puck."

"Hey man, nice eye patch."

Blaine laughed, "Thanks." He turned to Rachel and opened his arms for a hug, "my Maria."

Rachel hugged him and smiled as she sat in one of the chairs at the end of the bed, "my poor Tony, how are you? Are you alright?" The four of them talked for a while and Kurt, Rachel, and Puck sang Blaine a song. Blaine was upset that he was going to miss Michael week, but they cheered him up. They had a good time despite the circumstances. After a while, Puck and Rachel said their goodbyes and left. Rachel dropped Puck off with a goodnight kiss and headed home.

The next day, the choir room was filled with shouts of outrage and various ways to get back at Sebastian. Even more so when Mr. Schue informed them that nothing could be done legally if they didn't have proof that he had put something else in the slushie. Puck was so distracted listening to Artie's epic speech that he almost missed the looks between Rachel, Quinn, Kurt, and Santana…almost. They were planning something and with the looks on their faces, for the smallest fraction of a second he felt bad for the evil Warbler because it was not going to be pleasant. The rest of the day he tried to talk to Rachel about their plan, but every time she would change the subject or they would get interrupted and he swore that every single time it happened a very Puck-like smirk crossed her face for a second.

During lunch, Quinn and Sam asked if the pair wanted to go to Breadstix with them and maybe go to a movie. They agreed and Rachel suggested they go back to her place and just watch movies. After that was settled Quinn mentioned something about herself, Rachel, Kurt, and Santana meeting at Artie's van and that he was game. The curiosity was honestly burning inside. Sam asked him if he wanted to hang out while the girls did whatever they were going to do. Puck replied with a sure and was just about to ask Rachel what they were up to again when the bell rang and she was whisked away by Quinn. He muttered under his breath, "Damn it."

Puck was walking to his next class when he spotted Artie, "Dude, what are the girls and Kurt planning?"

"I'm under strict orders not to discuss this with anyone, but the four of them. And as scary as you can be, I'm more scared of them." Artie looked up at him apologetically.

"Fine," Puck groaned in frustration. Although he could see Artie's point, the thought of those four combined was a frightening idea.

After school, Rachel said goodbye to Puck and assured him that he would know what was going on soon enough, that's when he noticed them all carrying gym bags. Kurt and the girls joined Artie in the van and thanked him for helping them. He said it was no problem as he messed around with his camera. They made a stop at the 7-11 and while there they changed into some Michael Jackson style clothes.

They arrived at Dalton and proceeded with the plan. Santana went in alone at first and challenged Sebastian to a "duel." The other four waited outside the door waiting; Artie was filming everything through the slightly cracked open door and Rachel, Quinn, and Kurt were each holding a different colored slushie. If they were being honest the two warring singers sounded great together, but that was beside the point. Finally their singing ended and Santana demanded to know what he had put in the slushie. The others quietly entered the room while Santana distracted Sebastian. Artie put some distance between his camera and the boy that was about to be slushied.

Santana questioned him again and this time he answered with a smirk, "rock salt." Now it was Santana's turn to smirk as she backed away from him. He looked confused.

"Well, I guess you're lucky we don't stoop to such lows," Rachel said behind him, which caused a startled Sebastian to spin around to face them and he was immediately greeted by not just one, but three slushies.

"Yeah these are just regular slushies," Quinn remarked.

Kurt took a step forward, "that was for Blaine. Now wave to the camera," he pointed over to Artie.

Santana made her way over to the others and laughed, "I think you've just been hit by smooth criminals." They all laughed as Sebastian stormed out of the room.

The group couldn't stop laughing the whole ride home. Once they arrived at the school, where their cars and Artie's parents were patiently waiting, they confirmed phase two of their plan. As soon as Artie got home he would upload the video to YouTube and each of them would post it on their Facebook walls. Rachel and Quinn parted ways with the others and went to Rachel's to get ready for the double date. Once they were ready, Rachel texted Noah to tell him that him and Sam could pick them up if they were ready. Before the boys showed up the girls got on the computer to post the video, which already had a lot of views. Rachel posted it on her own wall and Noah's just so that he could finally stop wondering.

Puck and Sam were just about to leave when Puck got the notification that Rachel had posted a video on his wall. The two of them stopped to watch it and both laughed once it was over. "That was awesome," Sam exclaimed.

They arrived at Rachel's house a few minutes later. As soon as she opened the door, Puck wrapped her in a hug, "that was so badass, my Hot Little Jewish American Princess."

Rachel blushed and giggled, "I take it you watched the video."

The four of them made their way to Breadstix and had dinner. After Rachel assured the boys that she had plenty of non-musical movies they headed back to her place. They talked about their future plans while they went through Rachel's vast movie collection. Rachel turned to Sam, genuinely curious, "So Sam do you think you'll stay at McKinley until you graduate or will you go back with your parents?"

Sam thought about it for a moment, "I'm not sure."

"Well if you do go back down there, you have to promise me you will not go back to that place we found you working at." Rachel said sternly.

"What place?" Puck and Quinn asked at the same time which caused Sam to blush. Rachel and Sam told them the story of how she and Finn found him. Quinn almost died of laughter just picturing Rachel walking up to Sam with a dollar to get his attention. Puck found it amusing as well; he wasn't amused by the thought of Sam stripping in front of Rachel though. This made Rachel laugh and Sam assured Puck that she was just like a sister to him.

They had picked out a movie and were in the previews when Sam spoke seriously, "Honestly though, I don't know if I can stay with Kurt and Finn much longer. I mean Kurt's awesome, but Finn has been such an asshole lately."

Rachel felt bad, mainly because Finn's recent attitude was probably her fault, "you could stay here. We have like three guest rooms."

"Really?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure my dads wouldn't mind and I was going to offer when you first moved back, but I figured you'd be more comfortable with the guys."

"Or you could stay with me," Puck didn't exactly like the idea of a guy living with Rachel.

Rachel shook her head and grabbed his hand, "Noah we both know your mother wouldn't be able to handle that."

"Rachel is right; your mom could barely deal when I was there." Quinn added. She didn't have a problem with it; she trusted Rachel and Sam, plus she knew how in love Rachel was with Puck.

"I guess you're right," Puck agreed. He knew nothing would happen between them. He felt bad for Sam; he wouldn't want to live with Finn either.

Sam, who had been silent for a while, asked, "Are you sure your dads would be ok with that?" He didn't want to get his hopes up if he was going to be stuck with Finn.

"Yes and if it makes you feel better I'll call them right now," Rachel got up and went to grab her phone. After she asked her fathers the "million-dollar question", the others only heard a combination of yeahs, uh-huhs, and of courses from Rachel. Finally after telling them to be careful on their way home tomorrow she hung up, "well…they said that they would love to have you stay here, Sam."

"Thanks, so much, Rach. I might've gone insane if I stayed in that house," he exclaimed as he hugged her.

Rachel just laughed, "And everyone says I'm the overdramatic one." Her comment made the others laughed. After they watched a few movies and talked more, Quinn offered to give Sam a ride back to the Hudson-Hummel house. As they said their goodbyes Rachel stopped Sam, "My dads will be back around three tomorrow; we can come get you then. Oh and Sam, I wouldn't say anything to Finn. I don't want him to give you any trouble. But I'll text Kurt and let him know what's going on."

"Alright, see you tomorrow. And thanks again, Rachel." The blonde couple left; Rachel sent a text to Kurt about Sam and told Puck she was going to get her pajamas on.

She went into the bathroom for her nightly routine and when she came out Puck was lying on her bed. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked jokingly.

"I'm staying the night," he told her like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Rachel dramatically covered her mouth with her hand with mock surprise, "That's very presumptuous of you, Mr. Puckerman. What will the neighbors think when they see your truck hasn't been moved in the morning?"

"I say screw what they think. Plus we got to get some privacy while we can before Sam moves in; I can imagine you'd be pretty loud," Puck joked as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Both of them had agreed that although they admitted to loving each other, they weren't going to rush the physical aspect of the relationship. This had surprisingly been Puck's suggestion, he wanted their first time together to be perfect; timing and all.

"Noah!" Rachel smacked his chest as she got into bed. She propped herself on her elbow so she could look at his face. She smirked because two could play at this game. Rachel then looked at him innocently, "Besides we had the rooms soundproofed after the neighbors threatened to press charges if they kept hearing me singing." He seemingly choked on air and began coughing, Rachel giggled before cuddling into his side and laying her head on his chest.

Puck chucked and tightened his grip around her waist, bringing her closer. "Woman, you are gonna be the death of me," he let out a tired and content sigh, "Love you Rach."

"Love you too Noah." Rachel laid there and smiled to herself, not knowing he was doing the same. She was the first to fall asleep; Puck could feel her breathing slow and even out. For a little bit he wondered what he did to get so lucky; he didn't know what it was, but he was glad. Finally, he could feel the sleep about to take over so he kissed the top of her head and let it.

Puck was initially disappointed when he woke up and found himself in an empty bed, but that changed when the mouth-watering smell of pancakes made its way to him. He changed into his extra clothes before making his way to the kitchen. From his place in the archway, he watched his girlfriend as she made breakfast, humming while she worked. "It's not nice to stare. I can feel your eyes." She told him without turning around.

"Well it's hard not to stare. You're beautiful." Puck moved from his spot to snake his arms around her waist and kiss her cheek. He briefly wondered if this was how happily married couples acted in the mornings.

"Thank you. Now will you get the drinks, there should be orange juice on the top self." Puck did as she asked and they sat down for breakfast. They talked about their plans for the day; Puck had to watch Maya and Rachel would be helping Sam move in. The two also speculated what Mr. Schue's reaction to the showdown with Sebastian would be. After they cleaned up in the kitchen, Rachel made her way into the living room, "Noah, could you call my phone? I can't find it."

He grabbed his own out of his pocket and dialed her number.

_Suddenly, I'm feeling brave. Don't know what's gotten into me; why I feel this way. Can we dance, real slow? Can I hold you, can I hold you close? The room's hush, hush and now's our moment. Take it in, feel it all, and hold it. Eyes on you, eyes on me. We're doing this right._

"Found it!" Rachel grabbed the phone from under the couch. She dusted her legs off as she stood up.

Puck remembered his question about her ringtone for him from the previous night. He had thought it would be _Need You Now_ or _Sweet Caroline_, but he had never heard this song in his life. "What song was that?"

A slight blush crept onto Rachel's face, "it's called _All About_ _Us_ by He Is We featuring Owl City."

"Could I listen to the whole thing?"

"Sure, my laptop is in my room let me go get it." Rachel quickly left. Puck had collapsed on the couch by the time she got back. Once she got back, she sat next to him and brought up the music video. **(AN: if you haven't heard this song or have and just haven't watched the music video, you should because it is adorable)**

Puck thought the song was actually pretty cool, despite being all lovey dovey. He argued to himself that it was because the guy in the video was totally badass, the way he stayed with his girl even when she was sick. "We should sing this to the club. If we sang this at Regionals, we'd kill it and everyone would love it."

Rachel's face lit up, "That is a wonderful idea, Noah. Come on let's prepare it to show the others." She grabbed his hand and dragged him to her room, not that he was complaining.

**AN2: hope you liked it I'm not sure when the next one will be up, hopefully soon :) on a completely unrelated note, if you are reading this on heart day & haven't been on Google to check out their Valentine 's Day video doodle you should cuz it's cute :p Ok I'll stop now…**


	6. Weekend Warriors

**AN: Hola everyone! How's it going? Good, I hope. Anyway much thanks for the reviews & alerts. Sooo…how crazy intense was that winter finale? When I read that there was going to be a cliffhanger I was not expecting that. But, hey maybe now the wedding will be called off now, or at least pushed back (way far back :p). I'm still kind of mad at the show for all the gag worthy Finchel, but I was thinking how crazy it is that some of the characters that I originally hated when the show started I now like love and some of the characters I loved, I now dislike a lot. Like in the beginning I very much disliked Quinn, Santana, & Karofsky, but now I love them (I'm seriously thinking about get a shirt that says WWSS?...What Would Santana Say?). In the beginning I loved Finn, now not so much. Before Mercedes wasn't that bad, but after that mega diva fit, for me, her likability went down. Let me add that I absolutely adore Rachel's dads, I love my parents, but I can't help but wish that I had her dads lol...Oh & I just read that Matt Bomer (yum), from **_**White Collar**_**, will be playing Blaine's big brother sometime when the show comes back on so I am definitely looking forward to that. YAY! Alright well let's get on with the chapter shall we :) Hope you enjoy. & sorry for any mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Glee or "Weekend Warriors" by A Change of Pace**

Chapter 6-Weekend Warriors

"_I remember eighteen; hating Mondays and sitting staring at the clock, dying to get away. Don't look back. And have no regrets. We've only got two days, and time won't wait for us. I couldn't ask for a better place to be." ~A Change of Pace_

Rachel sat on the couch, staring at the blank TV screen. She was getting restless and needed something to do. Noah had left as soon as they finished practicing the song because he had to watch Maya. Then she realized she never asked Kurt how they were going to get Finn out of the house while Sam moved out. Kurt was unusually cheerful when she called him, "What has you in such a good mood?"

"All of this sneaking around Finn. It makes me feel like a secret agent on an undercover mission. It's exciting."

Rachel laughed at Kurt's over dramatics, "I highly doubt it would take a secret agent to trick Finn."

"Oh, quiet you, can't you just let me have my moment." Kurt whined.

"Sure, as long as you tell me you thought of how you're getting him out of the house."

She could practically her Kurt smiling over the phone, "Have no fear, my diva, it is all under control..," Rachel heard some noise in the background.

She realized it was Sam once he spoke, "Is that Rach? Is It? Tell her I say hi."

"Shush, I'm trying to talk," Rachel laughed again as she heard a commotion and Kurt's voice getting fainter as he complained, "Give me the phone back."

That's when Sam's voice chimed in, "Hi, Rachie. How's it going?"

Rachel mocked the way he said her name, "Hello Sammy. It's going good, how about you?"

"It's all good, but I better give Kurt the phone back; he looks like he wants to murder me. I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Bye." Rachel could hear the phone being passed back to Kurt.

"Anyway, like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," she could imagine him glaring at the blonde boy before he continued, "everything is under control, all you have to do is text me about what time your dads will be here. When it's time, I'll tell Finn I need his help at the garage and you'll be in the clear."

"Thanks, Kurt," Rachel really was grateful for his help.

"No problem. I'm going to go now, but don't forget to text me about your dads. I'll probably call you later to tell you all about Finn's reaction once he realizes all of Sam's stuff is gone."

"Ok, I'll call my dads now and find out how much longer it will be. Talk to you later."

As soon as Rachel hung up, she called her dad's number and told them the plan. They talked about when they would be back, which would be later than originally planned, and what they were having for dinner. They decided Rachel would make something to make it more of a family thing to welcome Sam, that's when she got a wonderful idea, for a way to make him feel more at home. Once she okayed it, she said her goodbyes and hung up. She sent a quick text to Kurt telling him the time her dads would be over and then thought about who could help her on her little project. Puck couldn't, Quinn was having a mother/daughter day, Kurt would be busy distracting Finn, and it was a surprise for Sam so he couldn't help. Then she thought of Mike and dialed his number, "Hey, Rachel, what's up?"

"Hello Michael, I need your help," Rachel stated.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Mike got a little worried.

That made Rachel giggle, "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine. I need your helping with a little project."

Mike sighed in relief, "ok, good. What is it?"

"As you know, Sam is moving in today and as a surprise I wanted to start painting his room for him, to make it more his so he feels at home."

"That sounds awesome, what do you need me to do?"

"Well I was hoping if you weren't busy, you'd go to the store with me to help pick out the color and then if you would, help me get started." She told him, hoping he would. The two were friends, but Rachel didn't see the harm in spending some time together and getting to know each other better since they'd probably be around one another a lot once they all got to New York.

"Sure, I'd love to help. Just let me change and I'll be right over to pick you up."

"Thanks. See you soon." Rachel hung up and decided it was a pretty good idea to change into some clothes she wouldn't mind getting paint on.

About twenty minutes later Mike knocked on the front door. When she opened up the door, Mike couldn't help noticing how normal and non-"Rachel Berry, future star" she looked in a pair of jeans and a plain gray t-shirt. "Hi, just let me grab my jacket quick and we can go."

The two were riding in his car talking and laughing when Mike asked where Puck was.

"Oh, he's babysitting Maya." Rachel smiled at the thought of how good of a brother Noah was.

Mike caught her in the act and seemed to know what she was thinking, "he doesn't even seem like the same person he used to be anymore, does he?"

"Yes, well, I knew he had it in him, but now he's finally showing more of his Noah side and less of Puck. I think what's changed is the fact that he doesn't care as much what all those people that don't matter think of him. I think all of us in glee have changed a little bit. I mean, I've had the pleasure of getting to know you more since you opened up more. You've always been a very talented dancer and now you can let everyone see that, and not only that but you are a talented singer as well and a great person." She sent him a smile, which he returned. "Tina, she doesn't hide behind her stutter anymore. Santana has even gotten a little nicer. And before glee, who would ever think that Quinn and I would be such good friends. She realized that she doesn't need to be the most popular and be on top in order to feel loved."

"Don't forget you," Mike added and Rachel looked at him curiously. "Before glee, honestly, you kind of scared me. You were really intense," Rachel blushed and muttered a sorry. Mike shook his head, "Nah, it's cool. The more I got to know you, the more I realized that you're only that intense because you are just determined to get of this place. And now I know that you are one of the coolest, nicest, and genuinely awesome people I know."

A smile began growing on Rachel's face as Mike parked the car and once they got out she walked up to him and hugged him, "Thank you so much."

Mike hugged her back and smiled, "No problem, it's the truth. Now let's go get some supplies." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the store. The two were messing around and laughing the whole entire way back to the paint. On their way, Mike decided that Rachel would make an excellent ninja partner and he stopped to tell her he would teach her the "way of the ninja". Rachel laughed and excitedly accepted his offer.

Soon they were standing in front of the color swatch cards. "Hmm, what colors do you think he'll like?"

"Well, my little ninja protégé, he likes that Avatar movie and they're like all about the blue in that movie so I bet he would like blue."

"That is a wonderful idea." Rachel told him. They proceeded to pick out a blue that was similar to the color of the aliens from the movie and some gray and white for the trimming of the room and windows. Before they left, they stopped to get a comforter that went with the colors. They stopped to get some lunch and then headed back to Rachel's house. The two carried everything up to the biggest empty guest room and laid some tarps down and taped off stuff.

The walls were painted blue without much incident and they left it to dry. Rachel and Mike sat on the couch and talked about New York and how excited they were to be living there soon. Rachel asked about how Tina was doing with dealing with how far they would be from each other. Mike told her that she was upset, but she was planning on going to New York once she graduated. Rachel was glad her and Noah were going together, unlike Mike and Tina, Kurt and Blaine, and Quinn and Sam, who had to wait a school year.

Eventually, they went back up to the room to start painting the trim and the door. They were doing okay until Mike accidently got paint on Rachel's arm. She gasped and took her paint brush and smeared some paint on his face. Before either of them knew it paint was flying and being splattered on each other as well as the walls. The pair was laughing and the music was too loud that they didn't hear her dads and Sam call out to them. The three of them came and stood in the doorway looking at the two friends covered in paint and the blue walls spattered with gray and white. Mike and Rachel soon felt the presence of others and stopped.

Rachel looked around the room, "Oh my." Mike just started bursting out laughing. "Well, Samuel, this was supposed to be a surprise, but it seems we got a little carried away with our paint fight. We will fix it I promise."

Sam looked around the room and smiled, "I actually kind of like it; it's cool…Except you missed a spot." While the paint covered pair was distracted, Sam reached for one of the extra paint brushes and streaked both of them with paint. Leroy and Hiram laughed and backed away from the door as the paint war part two commenced. Hiram went and grabbed the camera, taking a few pictures. He stopped the trio so he could take some non-action shots. Rachel stood in the middle of the two boys; all three had paint brushes still in hand and giant smiles on their faces. Mike and Sam seemed to have a silent conversation before Hiram took the last picture. Both of them bent down and kissed each of Rachel's cheeks as the photo was being taken, causing Rachel to have a look of cheerful surprise on her face.

The three declared that one their favorite picture, when Mike stopped in his tracks. "Puck's not gonna get all jealous and try to kill us, is he?" Sam's eyes got wide.

Rachel laughed at their expressions, "No, I'll just tell him you guys are like the big brothers I never had and you should be okay."

The boys let out a breath. Then Sam got a mischievous smile on his face, "So since we're your big brothers does this mean we get to give Puck the "hurt my little sis, I'll hurt you" talk?" Mike excitedly nodded his head in agreement.

More laughter burst from Rachel as she gave her consent, "only if I get to watch." Her laughter quickly disappeared when she felt paint in her hair. "Ugh, you got it in my hair."

"That's what she said," Sam joked, high-fiving Mike.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "you two are incorrigible. You've been spending too much time with Noah. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go get cleaned up. Your bathroom is right next door." Rachel left to get a shower and Sam loaned some of his clothes to Mike before going to his bathroom. She was walking out of her room and braiding her wet hair, when she saw Mike coming out of one of the guest rooms. Rachel laughed that he had managed to get all of the paint off him except what was in his hair. "Let me get the paint out of your hair."

She dragged him into her bathroom and left to grab a folding chair and some men's shampoo; she figured he didn't want his hair to smell girly like hers. The tiny diva sat him down and stood, washing his hair; kind of similar to when she washed Puck's when he got slushied. "You've had a lot of practice doing this haven't you," guilt written all over Mike's face.

"Yes," knowing where this was going, she added, "You don't need to apologize. Noah already beat you to it, plus you never slushied me."

"I know, but I should have stopped it."

Rachel finished and looked him in the eyes, "Michael, it is okay. It's in the past. You didn't know me back then and you just would have made it harder on you. Now stop this and come help me make dinner." She smiled and handed him a towel. Sam was already downstairs when they came out and her fathers already started making dinner. "Hey, I thought I was supposed to be making the food tonight."

"Well, we decided to take over since you guys were having so much fun."

When the food was ready all five of them sat down to eat. Amidst the eating, talking, and laughing, Rachel smiled to herself and thought about how it felt like a little family gathering. That's when she decided that she really liked it and that it needed to happen more often. "So I think we should make a little tradition out of this. We can have a family dinner every Saturday." She made sure to look at Mike to let him know that just because he didn't live in the house didn't mean he wasn't a part of it. Everyone agreed with this plan. It was also decided that Mike was staying over.

The three were in the living room watching TV when Kurt called Rachel. When she answered she put it on speaker phone and all of them spoke at the same time, completely in sync, "Kurt, you're on speaker with Sammy-licious, Mike-izzle, and Rae-Bay-Bay. How may we help you?"

"Oh sweet goodness, you three are going to be more trouble than me, Rach, and Quinn." Kurt was laughing.

"Maybe the troublemaker is just Rachie; she is the common point in both of those," Sam wondered.

Rachel smacked his arm, "Anyway, what's up Kurt?"

"Well, I told you I'd call with Finn's reaction to finding out Sam left."

All three tensed and leaned in towards the phone, "And?"

"I tried to stop him I really did, but I couldn't." Kurt now sounded really worried.

Rachel started to freak out internally, thinking about all the horrible possibilities. Mike spoke up for her, "What do you mean?"

Kurt sighed, "Finn is on his way to your house, Rach."

"Thanks for the warning. We'll let you know how it goes." Sam ended the call.

Hiram and Leroy had left to go stock up on groceries. And Rachel told the boys to let her try and take care of it herself. They told her they would let her do the talking, but they weren't going to leave her alone with him. She wanted to argue, but they mentioned that Puck would have their heads if something happened to her.

A short time later, there was pounding on the door, "Rachel! Sam!"

Rachel took a deep breath, put on her show smile, and opened the door. "Hello Finn, how are you?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Rachel." His face was red with anger.

"I wasn't playing dumb. I was being polite, something you obviously know nothing about."

Completely ignoring her he was trying to see in the house, "so is it true? Is Sam living here now?"

"Yes it is," she said, narrowing her eyes at the tall boy.

"How do Puck and Quinn feel about that?" Finn practically spat in her face.

The anger began to grow in Rachel, "they are perfectly fine with it because we have trust in our relationships."

Finn scoffed, "sure so how long have you guys been sleeping together behind their backs?"

Sam and Mike came up behind Rachel when they heard her slap Finn's face and heard her yelling, "How dare you accuse me of something like that? I would never…" she let out what could be compared to a growl, "you are such a…a…an asshole."

The boy should have known that Rachel cussing was his cue to stop talking, but he obviously wasn't that smart. Because once he saw Mike he decided to make another snide comment, "Oh, this is rich, Rachel. You're with Mike too. Are you planning on going after all the guys in glee of just the ones that are jocks too? Do I need to warn Artie and Rory?"

Mike took another step forward, "Dud, you better shut up and leave. You don't even know what you are talking about."

"What I'm just calling her out on what she is…a slut."

Both Sam and Mike went to lunge forward at Finn, but Rachel put her hand up to stop them. They were going to protest until they saw the expression on her face. It was void of any emotion. Her glare was as icy as her voice when she spoke to Finn, "Finn, I think it's time for you to leave."

Finn, again, made the mistake of opening his mouth, "Not until you…"

This time Rachel didn't even let him finish, "No, Finn, I don't think you understand. You need to leave. Now." She pushed him back as hard as she could with shaky hands and slammed the door in his face. They heard Finn exclaim and assumed it was due to pain.

Sam peeked out the window to confirm this. Sure enough, Finn obviously hadn't moved his face out of the way fast enough and was now holding his nose. "Hey Rachie, I think you got him back for breaking your nose."

"Are you alright, Rach?" The concern in Mike's voice made Sam turn back to face them. Her expression was still emotionless and her hands were still shaking.

After a moment she put on another show smile, "Yes, but I'm feeling a little tired so I think I'm going to go lay down. Tell my dads I say goodnight, would you? And goodnight to both of you; I'll see you in the morning."

The boys each said goodnight and gave her a big hug before watching her go up the stairs. She didn't want to seem weak in front of them, but she had obviously been hurt by Finn's words.

When Hiram and Leroy arrived home, Mike and Sam told them about what happened and asked if they could have some of the glee kids over to help cheer her up. Neither of the Mr. Berry's needed that much convincing and quickly agreed. Sam's new room wasn't ready yet so the two teenagers went to the other spare room to sleep. Before they fell asleep a text was sent out to Puck, Quinn, Kurt, Blaine, Tina, Santana, Brittany, Artie, and Rory asking to come over. All of them agreed to be there. Some of them asked what had happened. Once they were told what had gone down, all responded with threats and unkind towards Finn.

**Puck: is she ok shes not answerin her fone…swear to Jew God i'll kill him**

**Quinn: Is Rae alright? Ugh, what did either of us ever see in him?**

**Kurt: The only thing keeping me from murdering him now is that Carol would not be pleased with me killing her son. Oh & I cannot rock the prison chic.**

**Blaine: Finn is a douche. Is Rach ok?**

**Santana: next time i see finnocence im going lima heights adjacent on his ass**

Despite the situation, the boys couldn't help, but laugh at their friends replies. Finn may be a complete tool, but Rachel had a group of awesome friends that she was going to be surprised to see when they showed up the next day to cheer her up.

**AN2: Ok so I am really sorry about the complete lack of Puckleberry this chapter. I just really wanted to put some Mike/Rachel/Sam sibling-like relationships in this, cuz admit it the paint fight scene and the picture taking scene would be adorable to see on the show. I was going to have Puck & Rachel sing their duet in this chapter, but it was getting kind of long & I figured this was a good place to stop. Hey that just means this story will be longer than I had originally planned. Yay! Anyway I promise there will be Puckleberry in the next chapter so until next time…bye :)**


	7. All About Us

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs mentioned**

Chapter 7-All About Us

"_Take my hand, I'll teach you to dance. I'll spin you around, won't you let you fall down. Would you let me lead? You can step on my feet. Give it a try, it'll be alright." ~He Is We_

Rachel woke up still feeling upset about what had happened the previous night. After bidding Mike and Sam goodnight, she had gone up to her room and cried herself to sleep. She knew Finn's comments were completely false and that she shouldn't have let them affect her like they had, but she was sick of people's negative attitude towards her. Finn had no right saying those things to her just because he was angry and wasn't getting his way. Rachel didn't even bother with her normal morning routine and went straight downstairs.

The boys were in the kitchen looking for food. She laughed and pointed to the pantry door, "There is a whole bunch of different cereals in there. Quinn and Kurt always make sure we're stocked up on "normal people" food."

Sam laughed, "Thanks. How ya feeling, Rachie?"

Rachel shrugged, "Better, I guess. Ugh, I'm just so angry that he would say that."

"Well, Finn is an idiot." Mike stated, earning a giggle from Rachel. They finished breakfast and washed their dishes before going back upstairs to finish Sam's room. The three of them were putting the furniture back in place when the doorbell went off. Mike practically sprinted out of the room, "I'll get it," leaving Sam and Rachel to continue the work.

When Mike came back up Puck, Quinn, and Kurt were following behind him. Rachel went to them and hugged each of them, "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

Puck pulled her back into his arms, "We heard about what happened and we are here to cheer you up." Rachel gave Sam and Mike a look, knowing they were behind this.

"The others should be here soon as well." Quinn added.

Rachel paled, "The others?"

"Don't worry, babe. We only invited the non-doucherific glee members." Everyone laughed and waited for the rest of the "cheering up Rachel party" to show up.

"Oh, when Blaine gets here I have to ask him if he watched Doctor Who the other night." Rachel remembered.

Mike and Sam paused in shock that they weren't the only ones that liked the incredibly awesome show. Sam spoke first, "You guys watch Doctor Who?"

Rachel giggled then pulled a very Puck-like smirk, "Of course, we do. Where do you think Blaine got the idea to wear bowties? Bowties are cool."

"You are the coolest person ever." Mike smiled. Rachel blushed and when Blaine showed up, the four Whovians talked about one of their favorite shows, while the other three laughed at their nerdiness. Tina arrived next, immediately hugging Rachel before making her way to her boyfriend. Santana, Brittany, and Rory knocked on the door shortly after Artie wheeled into the house.

The day was spent watching movies, singing karaoke, eating pizza, and the occasional plotting of revenge. Santana was all for using the razors in her hair on Finn. Puck wanted to completely pummel him for insulting his girl, something that Sam, Mike, and Blaine vocally agreed to help with. Kurt was about to speak when he was cut off.

Quinn got that evil look in her eye that hadn't been seen since her pre-baby cheer captain days when she spoke, "Guys, stop. You're thinking about this the wrong way. Come on, what is the one thing Finn cares about the most? His popularity. We need to publically humiliate him. If the school see's that what they see as the bottom of the popularity food chain is turning against him then how long do you think it will be before they turn on him too? Heck it might even help glee club get higher up on that chain."

Kurt practically squealed, "Quinn you are a genius."

"Preach." Artie exclaimed as he raised his hands in the air.

Quinn then went on to give the group the plan, and since it would be Monday and glee would be early in the day it worked out perfectly. The group of friends decided that unless it was an insult none of them would speak to Finn. On top of that he would be receiving a few slushy facials from the glee kids, all at times when they knew most of the students at McKinley would be watching. Finn would be rejected by, who many thought to be on the bottom of the popularity food chain, a majority of the New Directions. His precious "golden boy" image wouldn't last long. Santana, Brittany, and Quinn also made it their mission to make sure Finn didn't start any horrible rumors about Rachel and to start some really bad ones about him if he did.

Rachel waited until her blonde best friend quit talking to be the peacekeeper, "Wait, sure I'm angry with him, but isn't this a little harsh for just calling me some names."

The rest of the club looked at her like she was crazy. Quinn shook her head, "Rach, this is just for calling you names. This is for everything he's done and gotten away with. He thinks just because he's Finn Hudson that he is above everyone else. And it's time that he learns that his actions have consequences. Finn is a hypocrite. Take the whole virginity thing. He lied to you then got mad and wouldn't forgive when you only kissed Puck. Yet he forgave me and I had a kid with him. So no this isn't harsh, it's a long time coming." Rachel nodded in understanding and the glee kids popped in another movie.

About ten minutes in to the movie Puck grabbed Rachel's hand and led her out of the room and into her bedroom. He placed a kiss on her forehead, "So do you feel better?"

The pair laid back on her bed staring at the glow in the dark stars on her ceiling. Rachel squeezed his hand and smiled, "Yeah today has been really fun. Are you ready to sing our duet tomorrow?"

"Hell yeah, it's gonna be awesome."

Rachel curled into his side resting her hand above his heart, "Noah?"

"Yeah, Rach?"

She closed her eyes focusing on his heartbeat, "Have I ever told you how wonderful you are and how lucky I am to have you?"

"I'm the lucky one here, babe." Puck couldn't help the smile that spread across his face when Rachel looked up at him.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. Rachel kissed him back with fervor, turning the quick, loving kiss into a long, passionate one. She moved from his side to straddle him. The brunette nipped at his bottom lip before their tongues met. The guests downstairs were forgotten completely as Puck flipped them around, hovering over her and deepening the kiss. Rachel's hands made their way under his shirt, brushing his delicious looking muscles. She liked the way they tensed under fingertips. Then she decided she wanted to feel more him so she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. A small moan escaped both of them at the contact. Rachel ground her hips against him to try to get rid of some of the tension that was quickly forming between her legs.

"Shit, Rach." Puck muttered against her lips. He knew they needed to stop. Sure, neither of them were virgins anymore, but he didn't want their first time together to be when all their friends were downstairs. He pulled away for some air and rested his forehead against hers. Puck placed a few more kisses on her lips before kissing her nose and lying down next to her. "Soon, but not right now. Not with everyone here." He reached for her hand while she lay there trying to settle her rapid heartbeat.

Finally, she nodded. "You're right."

"What was that? Can I get that in writing? This might be the only time that _the_ Rachel Berry admits that I'm right." Puck joked.

"Noah." Rachel smacked his chest with her free hand. Then she sighed, "I suppose we should get back down there before they get suspicious."

Puck laughed and pulled her off the bed. They quickly reclaimed their spots and watched the rest of the movie with their friends. And surprisingly no one said anything about their brief absence. At the end of the evening, Rachel and Sam waved goodbye to everyone and kissed each of their significant others goodnight before closing the door. Before going to bed, Sam hugged Rachel and thanked her again for offering him a place to live. When she finished her nightly routine, Rachel slipped under the covers and let Noah consume her thoughts as she drifted to sleep.

The glee kids began gathering in the choir room. Puck had his arm around the back of Rachel's chair, while she rested her head on his shoulder. The plan was immediately put into effect, not one of the members who had been at Rachel's house spoke to Finn, even when he tried to talk to them. Finn looked to Puck and Rachel, silently accusing them, but before either could respond Santana spoke up, "Yo Finnocence, why don't you turn around and wipe that look off your face before I do it for you." Finn turned to glare at her but did as she said. Rachel sent her a grateful smile.

Mr. Schue cheerfully walked in oblivious to the tension between Finn and almost the entire rest of the club. "Hey guys, before we get started does anyone have something they'd like to share?"

Rachel raised her hand, "Actually, Mr. Schue, Noah and I have thought of a duet that we think would be perfect for us to sing at Regionals."

"What the heck? Me and Rachel always sing the duets together; not Puck."

Will answered him, "yesterday, everyone in the club besides you, Rachel, and Puck voted and replace you as the male lead."

"Mr. Schue! You can't let them do this; you're the teacher." Finn yelled.

"Sorry, Finn, majority rules. Now let's hear this duet."

Puck and Rachel made their way to the front of the classroom. Once they were ready they nodded to the band and the music began.

(_Rachel, _Puck, **Both**)

_Take my hand, I'll teach you to dance.  
>I'll spin you around, won't let you fall down.<br>Would you let me lead, you can step on my feet.  
>Give it a try, it'll be alright.<em>

**The room's hush, hush, and now's our moment.  
>Take it in feel it all and hold it.<br>Eyes on you, eyes on me.  
>We're doing this right.<strong>

**Cause lovers dance when they're feeling in love.  
>Spotlight shining, it's all about us.<strong>  
><em>It's oh, oh, oh, oh, all,<em>  
><strong>About uh, uh, uh, uh, us.<br>And every heart in the room will melt,  
>This is a feeling I've never felt but,<strong>  
><strong>It's oh, oh, all about us.<strong>

Suddenly, I'm feeling brave.  
>Don't know what's got into me,<br>Why I feel this way.  
>Can we dance, real slow?<br>Can I hold you, can I hold you close?

**The room's hush, hush, and now's our moment.  
>Take it in feel it all and hold it.<br>Eyes on you, eyes on me.  
>We're doing this right.<strong>

**Cause lovers dance when they're feeling in love.  
>Spotlight shining, it's all about us.<br>It's oh, oh, oh, oh, all,  
>About uh, uh, uh, uh, us.<br>And every heart in the room will melt,**  
><strong>This is a feeling I've never felt but,<br>It's oh, oh, all about us.**

_Do you hear that love? They're playing our song._  
><span>Do you think we're ready? Oh I'm really feeling it.<span>  
><em>Do you hear that love? Do you hear that love?<em>

Do you hear that love? They're playing our song.  
><em>Do you think we're ready yet? Love I'm really feeling it.<br>Do you hear that love?_ Do you hear that love?

_Do you hear that love? They're playing our song._  
>Do you think we're ready yet? Oh I'm really feeling it.<br>_Do you hear that love?_ **Do you hear that love?**

_Lovers dance when they're feeling in love.  
>Spotlight shining, it's all about us.<em>  
><span>It's all about us.<span>  
><em>It's all, all, all, all.<em>  
><strong>Every heart in the room will melt,<br>This is a feeling I've never felt,  
>But it's oh, oh, all about us.<strong>

**Cause lovers dance when they're feeling in love.  
>Spotlight shining, it's all about us.<br>**_It's oh, oh, oh, oh,__all_about uh, uh, uh, uh, us.  
><em>(hey-ey hey)<em>  
><span>And every heart in the room will melt,<span>  
><strong>This is a feeling I've never felt but,<br>It's oh, oh, all,  
>It's all about us.<strong>

When they finished singing, everyone besides Finn was clapping. Even Mercedes, who lately was anti-Rachel Berry for some reason, had joined in. Mr. Schue praised them and agreed that with the right choreography it would be great for Regionals. After they made it back to their seats Puck gave Rachel a quick kiss before they turned their attention back to Mr. Schue.

**AN: Sorry for any mistakes and sorry it stopped kind of abruptly, but I wrote part of this chapter then took a break. However, once I started writing again, it seems I got a little writers block pertaining to this story. So again sorry this isn't my best chapter, hopefully soon I can get back on track with it.**


	8. Invincible

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

Chapter 8-Invincible

"_Took a long hard look at my life. Lost my way while I was fighting the tide. A big black cloud, stormy sky followed me while I was living a lie. So heartless, so selfish, so in darkness. When all your nights are starless, you're running outta hope. But I found the strength inside to see, found the better part of me, and I'll never let it go." ~Hedley_

Rachel and Puck were sitting in the back discussing their plans for Valentine's Day, while the rest of the club argued with Mr. Schue about performing in front of classes. It wasn't until Sugar spoke up and mentioned a party at Breadstix that they started paying attention. The couple decided that they would of course go together and exchange their gifts there. For the rest of the day, the entire glee club was abuzz with talk of the party and The God Squad's singing telegrams. Rachel, Kurt, and Santana were in the courtyard conversing about Kurt's secret admirer when Rachel received a singing telegram from Puck. Once they finished singing _Stereo Hearts_, Rachel excused herself so she could go find her boyfriend.

She saw him at his locker. Without warning she turned him to her and kissed him. "Thanks for the telegram. That was very sweet of you," she spoke with a smile.

Puck smiled right back at her, "Anything for you, babe." He closed his locker and offered Rachel his arm. They walked to their last class of the day arm in arm.

When Puck arrived at the Berry house later that evening to pick up Rachel, he was greeted by her fathers at the door. Luckily for him they were probably the only fathers in Lima that were happy their daughter was dating him. The party was already going when they arrived. Puck held her hand the entire night except for when she went to sing. Once everything quieted down, Rachel pulled out a small box from her coat pocket and handed it to him. It was a personalized guitar pick; he laughed when he saw the gold star on one side with his name in the middle. The tiny brunette urged him to turn it around, where "Love, Rachel" had been inscribed.

He leaned in and kissed her, "I love you too. And thanks, it's awesome." Puck retrieved a slightly larger box and placed it in her hands, anxiously waiting for her to open it. He had asked his mom for some ideas so he hoped she liked it.

Rachel opened the box to reveal a gold charm bracelet. She examined each of the charms that dangled from it; there was a music note, an apple, a star, the letters N and R, and in between the two letters was a heart. "Oh Noah, I love it. It's wonderful and so are you." She kissed him again.

"You two are so adorable it makes me want to gag," Sam said jokingly as him and Quinn sat across the table from them. Puck and Rachel both looked up and stared at him. He raised his hands in surrender, "I'm kidding of course."

* * *

><p>Kurt and Rachel were having their weekly coffee date at the Lima Bean, when Sebastian approached them with a photo shopped picture of Finn and a threat for Rachel, "I don't know where you got your information, but we're not even together anymore."<p>

"It doesn't matter; you still care about the people in your club and would want anything bad to happen to them." Once he left, the two best friends debated on whether or not to tell the club. They decided that they should. Finn was outraged, understandably. He and Puck may not be on the best terms at the moment, but even Puck was pissed.

Halfway through the day, Puck and Rachel were stopped in the hallway by a distraught Kurt followed by a somber Blaine, "Kurt, what's wrong?"

Kurt pulled the pair to the choir room where the rest of the glee club was also waiting. Will stood in front of his students and told them what had happened with David Karofsky. All of them were shocked and saddened by the news of his attempted suicide. Rachel knew that Kurt probably felt bad as he had told her what had happened when Dave had come out as his secret admirer on Valentine's Day. Everyone was quiet for the rest of the day.

Rachel and Puck were at her locker, getting ready to leave the school, when Finn approached them. He was clearly shaken up over the information they had received earlier. Sheepishly he rubbed the back of his neck before he started, "With everything that's happened I just want to say sorry for the way I've been acting. Life's too short…ya know." The couple was quiet for a little bit, before Rachel hugged him and told him apology accepted. Puck and Finn shared a hand-shake and a nod. As they left Rachel leaned into her boyfriend and he held her tight. A few hours later, Kurt called her and told her about what had happened with Sebastian. He also informed her of the club get together in the auditorium.

* * *

><p>Sitting in a circle, New Directions watched on as Rory tasted peanut butter for the first time. Rachel looked around at everybody and smiled, thinking how grateful she was that this club had brought this miss-matched group of kids together. She listened as Mr. Schuester spoke about his past and she thought about how even at her lowest moments she had always had something that kept her from even considering taking her own life. Rachel was brought out of her inner workings when the teacher asked the group to state something they were looking forward to.<p>

Sam started, "I'm looking forward to the day when I earn enough money to buy my parents a house so they don't have to go through what they did before."

"I can't wait until Rachel and Puck have kids. It'll be really interesting," Mercedes said laughing, while Rachel blushed and Puck wiggled his eyebrows at her. The rest of the club laughed and agreed, even Finn. Artie wants to see his kids' first steps. Sugar wants to see Sex and the City 3.

"I'm looking forward to graduating and going to college." Puck said and smiled at his girlfriend. Without her help he might not have been accepted. Finn admitted to wanting to petition for his dad's discharged to be changed from dishonorable to honorable. Quinn can't wait to graduate top of her class at Columbia. Santana just wants her grandmother to love her again. Brittany mentions wanting Lord Tubbington to stop his ecstasy addiction, which got a few chuckles. Blaine wants to see marriage equality in all 50 states. Mike is looking forward to his first dance at Carnegie Hall.

"I just want a song." Tina stated.

Kurt patted her knee affectionately before speaking, "I can't wait to watch my dad make a change in Congress."

"I'm looking forward to moving to New York with some of my closest friends and keeping in touch with all of those that won't be there." Rachel added.

Rory set his peanut butter jar down, "I can't wait to win Regionals." The rest of the club cheered in agreement and enjoyed each other's company for a couple more hours.

* * *

><p>"Rach, why are you so nervous? We got this." Puck asked his girlfriend who looked on the brink of a nervous breakdown.<p>

She looked up at him, "It's just…this is our last Regionals. I want it to be perfect."

"It will be; we have an awesome group number, the Troubletones will be great, and we'll kill our duet." Rachel nodded in agreement. Everyone quieted down once the Warblers were announced. They were really good and if tonight hadn't been about raising money, she would have been worried.

New Directions waited in the wings while The Golden Goblets finished up. Kurt came up to Rachel and squeezed her hand, smiling at his best friend, "Let's do this."

Rachel laughed and nodded in agreement before they graced the stage and started off their mash-up of _Fly/I Believe I Can Fly_. Once they finished that, the Troubletones went on and sang their song. And to finish out the show, Puck and Rachel took the stage to sing their _All About Us _duet. When they were done the crowd went wild, which once they were backstage again caused Puck to spin Rachel in a circle and kiss her.

They stood hand in hand with the rest of New Directions as they waited for the results. Everyone knew it would be a close one between them and the Warblers. When New Directions was announced the winners, the club began celebrating and cheering. A little while later Rachel saw Quinn walking up to her in a Cheerio uniform. Rachel is glad that everything seems to be working out for her friend.

"Thanks for bringing me home, Noah." Rachel said as they entered her house.

Puck took her coat and hung it up for her, "No problem. Where'd your dads go?"

"They went out celebrating. You'd think they were the ones that won today." Rachel joked before pulling Puck down for a kiss. "Let's go up to my room."

Puck pulled back and studied her face to see if she meant what it sounded like she meant. She nodded her head to his silent question. "Are you sure? What about your dads and Sam?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Yes I'm sure. My dads won't be back for hours and Sam went with Quinn and The God Squad to visit David. He's going to Quinn's after. So come on." Puck couldn't deny Rachel anything and he didn't need to be asked twice; he followed when Rachel grabbed his hand and led him to her bedroom and closed the door behind them.

**AN: Sorry that it's on the shorter side and for any mistakes. Hope you liked it. **


	9. Now Is The Start

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sorry for any typos or mistakes. Enjoy :)**

Chapter 9-Now Is the Start

"_Hey! Hey, do you hear, do you hear that sound? It's the sound of the lost gone found. It's the sound of a mute gone loud. It's the sound of a new start." ~A Fine Frenzy_

_DUNDUNDUNDUN DUNDUNDUNDUN DOOOWEEEOOOO DOOOWEEEOOOO DOOOWEEEOOOO DOOOWEEEOOOO DOOOWEEEOOOO WEEEOOOO WEEEOOOO_

Rachel, Mike, Sam, and Blaine sang as they started their 11th Doctor/Doctor Who marathon in the early afternoon. "I love this show!" Rachel was practically bouncing up and down on the couch. Sam and Mike agreed, but Blaine looked like he was in his own little world so Rachel paused the show when she noticed. "What's wrong, Blaine?"

"Huh…Oh, nothing," he answered after snapping out of it. The other three all gave him disbelieving looks. "Alright, my older brother, Cooper, is coming to town."

"And that's bad because…" Sam wondered.

"I love my big bro, but whenever we're together he finds some way to put me down. I don't know…"

Mike thought back to when his father treated his own dancing dream similarly, "Well, does he know that it makes you feeling crappy when he does that? Does he even know that he's doing it?"

"I'm not sure," Blaine sighed.

Rachel leaned over and hugged him, "If he does it while he's here then tell him and I'm sure everything will be alright. For now don't worry about it and let the Raggedy Doctor cheer you up. Geronimo!"

They all laughed and Blaine nodded, "You're right. Let's do this." Rachel played the show and the four of them settled in.

**Later that night…**

Puck and Quinn hadn't heard from Rachel or Sam all day. They both vaguely remember the mention of one of their nerd marathons, as the non-Whovians/any other fandom member called them. Puck had texted the blonde Cheerio after failing to get a text reply from any of the four and they decided to go to Rachel's to see what was going on. After knocking and not getting an answer, Puck grabbed the hidden spare key. The school badass and golden girl were not prepared for what they found as they both stopped short in the living room doorway.

The four had no clue they were being watched until Puck spoke, "What the hell?"

They immediately stopped what they were doing. Rachel blushed slightly before giving Puck and Quinn a cheeky smile, "Hello Noah, Quinn."

Quinn was desperately trying not to laugh, "What in the world are you guys doing?"

Sam smiled sheepishly at his girlfriend, "Well, as you know we were having a Doctor Who marathon and from there it kind of escalated."

"What's that in your hand?"

The blonde scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, "Uh, a sonic screwdriver." As if proving a point he pointed it at her and it started glowing and making noises.

Quinn shook her head and turned to another one of the four, looking slightly grossed out, "Mike, what are you eating?"

Mike, thankfully, swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking, "Fish fingers and custard."

The newcomers scrunched up their noses in disgust. Puck turned to his girlfriend and pointed, "Rach, babe, what are you wearing?"

"Oh, I wear a fez now, fezzes are cool," she responded causing the Whovians to start laughing again.

"And what the heck is that? And where is Blaine?" Quinn inquired pointing to the object that was placed against the wall.

They all looked to their creation with bright and proud smiles. Blaine took this moment to pop out of the blue thing in question and answer, "We thought it would be fun to make our own TARDIS. So we got some cardboard boxes from the garage and put them together and colored them blue." Puck and Quinn finally noticed about an insane amount of blue markers littering the floor and the blue stains on all of their hands.

"You guys have got to be the weirdest people I have ever met." Quinn stated, earning four simultaneous thank yous and another round of laughter.

* * *

><p>Rachel, Puck, and Mike sat in the library waiting for the other glee seniors to arrive so they could decide what to do on Senior Ditch Day. Rachel rolled her eyes at the two boys as they excitedly tried to come up with ideas. Finally the others started to file in. Once Quinn and Kurt got there the two started a conversation about how unfair it was that they wouldn't be able to spend the day with their significant others; Mike quickly joined in. It was Puck's turn to roll his eyes. He smirked at Rachel who was perched on the arm of the chair he was sitting on. He innocently wrapped his arm around her waist before pulling her down onto his lap. Rachel's surprised yelp caused their friends to pause their conversation to laugh at the couple. The brunette sent them a harmless glare before turning it to her boyfriend. Puck simply smirked in reply and kissed her.<p>

They were broken out of their little bubble by Santana's voice, "Maybe we should all come back later." Rachel blushed as she looked up at the Latina and her blonde companion.

Brittany just smiled brightly at them, "I love Puckleberry. It's my favorite kind of berry."

Both Puck and Rachel gave her confused and slightly weirded-out looks before shaking it off. Once Mercedes and Finn arrived, their meeting began. As expected Rachel was the first to speak, "So does anyone have any ideas?"

Mike spoke up, "Well Puck and I were thinking…"

Rachel quickly cut him off, "That won't get us expelled or arrested." The dancer's facial expression and silence was all the answer Rachel needed. She didn't know how long they all sat there throwing out ideas before Quinn suggested Six Flags.

"Bye Dad, bye Daddy," Rachel yelled once she heard the familiar honk of Puck's truck horn. Once in the vehicle she pecked him on the cheek before he pulled her in for a deeper kiss. "Noah, we have to go meet the others or we'll miss the bus."

"Fine with me; we can hang out, just the two of us," he mumbled against her lips.

Rachel pulled away, "This is one of our last times to do something together before we graduate."

"Babe, half of us are going to New York together," from the look he got he determined that this was not a reasonable excuse to bail, "Fine." Rachel laughed at his disappointment and Puck sent her a glare that would send most cowering away, but she knew better.

The pair was among the last to reach the designated meeting spot. Santana being Santana, of course had to comment, "Finally, we were beginning to think you guys had ditched ditch day to go make out or something."

Rachel sent Puck a look that made him chuckle. He replied to the Cheerio's comment, "Well, I did try." His answer earned him another glare and a playful slap on the arm. "I mean, we would never do such a thing," he added sarcastically, making the others laugh.

The day was a complete success; all of them had fun. Several of the girls received some stuffed animals, but none more so than Rachel; although, Tina would be getting plenty when Mike returned. He and Puck had a contest of who could win the most prizes. Rachel had so many that she offered some to the others; after the final tally of course.

After Puck dropped her off, Rachel plopped down on the couch beside Sam. "Wow," was his only comment when he took in her armful of various stuffed animals.

"Don't worry, Noah and I each won one for Quinn in your honor."

"Thanks?" he chuckled, "So I take it you guys had fun?"

Rachel nodded, "Yep, but it would have been more fun if you had been able to come. It would have stopped Quinn's complaining at the very least." They both laughed before she questioned him, "So how was your day?"

"Alright, I missed you guys," he answered truthfully. Sam hesitated for a moment wondering how to word his next inquiry, "So I think your dads have been dropping me hints that it's okay if I stay even after you leave."

She only giggled and for a moment Sam thought he had read the hints completely wrong, "Of course they're okay with that. I'm pretty sure they'd love that." Sam looked confused so she continued, "Oh, Sammy, you're family now and they like having you here."

Sam smiled at her words and pulled her into a hug, "I like it here too and if my family can't move back up to Lima I'd still like to stay." Rachel hugged him back and rolled her eyes when she saw her dads giving her thumbs up behind Sam's back.

* * *

><p>So Cooper's visit had started off a little bumpy, but as Rachel had predicted everything had turned out alright in the end. As for disco week, almost the entire group had agreed to block it out. Even though they did have some fun, Puck's original statement that disco sucked still held. The only thing that had really come out of it had been Rachel's talk with Finn.<p>

Rachel was waiting outside on the school steps for Noah while he talked with Ms. Pillsbury when Finn exited the building, "Oh, hey Rach."

"Hello Finn," she answered. The two hadn't really talked since he had apologized to her and Puck so it was kind of awkward.

Finn stood there unsure of what to say, "Umm, were you waiting for a ride? Did you need one?"

"No, I'm just waiting for Noah while he talks to Ms. Pillsbury…but thanks anyway."

He rubbed the back of his neck before making to leave. The tall teen halted and turned back to the diva once more, "I am sorry about before; I meant what I said the other week. I don't want things to be awkward between us anymore. So can we…Can we just be friends?"

Rachel genuinely smiled at him, "I'd like that, Finn."

Finn made his way back over to her and sat down beside her. She gave him a questioning look causing him to shrug, "I figured a friend wouldn't make you wait by yourself."

"Thanks. So I heard Mr. Schue is worried about you; well you, Santana, and Mercedes"

"Yeah, the only reason we were the finalists was so he could try and help us figure out what we want to do with our futures or whatever."

She looked over to her ex; he wouldn't say it out loud, but Rachel could tell that he was worried about it as well, "Well, have you thought about what you wanted to do after you graduate?"

Finn shrugged, "I'm not really good for anything besides throwing a football and singing."

Rachel shook her head, "That's not true. Yes you are good at those things, but you're also a great leader; people look up to you, Finn." He only sighed in response before she spoke again, "Have you ever thought about coaching or teaching?"

"I don't know how good at that I'd be."

Finn didn't have time to say much else before Puck emerged from the school. "Hey babe, hey man."

Rachel stood from her spot to greet her boyfriend before turning to Finn, "Well I think you'd be great at it. Anyway thanks for waiting with me; I'll talk to you later." He only nodded and gave a little wave before getting up and going to his own vehicle.

"What was that all about?" Puck asked as they walked to his truck.

"He apologized again and asked if we could be friends. I was talking to him about his plans for the future; I'm worried about him. I told him he should look into coaching or teaching."

Puck nodded, "I can see him doing that; after all he is kinda like a younger version of Mr. Schue without all the hair product."

The brunette diva swatted his arm, "Noah, I was being serious."

"So was I," he responded making Rachel giggle.


End file.
